Mary Black Foundation recognized for promoting bicycling

By DUDLEY BROWNdudley.brown@shj.com

Wednesday

Sep 30, 2009 at 12:01 AM

The Mary Black Foundation has received national recognition for promoting cycling.

The Mary Black Foundation has received national recognition for promoting cycling.The foundation is one of 45 organizations recently added to the League of American Bicyclists list of bicycle-friendly businesses. The foundation is one of three employers in the state on the two-year-old list."We're thrilled and hope we can be an example and model for other businesses in Spartanburg," said Cate Ryba, media and communications officer for the foundation.The foundation, which promotes active living and early childhood education, has eight staff members and a policy in place encouraging exercise during the workday. Employees can earn up to an additional week of vacation each year if they consistently exercise at least 30 minutes during three days of the work week.The foundation also has bike racks, showers and lockers and is near downtown bike lanes."One of the most important things for a bike commuter is having the support of their employer," said Curt McPhail, a program officer at the foundation, who regularly cycles to work. "If you don't have that, it's not going to work."The League of American Bicyclists recognizes the companies on the list for promoting good health, which can lead to more productive employees. The league also celebrates cycling as a way for companies to reduce their carbon footprints.The foundation was also chosen based on its role in promoting cycling in the community, including the lunchtime bike rides it hosts on Fridays and its involvement with events encouraging people to bike to work or with local politicians.Ryba said the foundation would like to eventually host training sessions for people wanting to commute on bicycles and would like to start keeping spare bikes at the office that employees could use for exercise breaks or errands.Philip Belcher, the Mary Black Foundation's president, said the foundation's goal when moving to its downtown office was to be in a central location where employees could walk to lunch and run errands.

The League of American Bicyclists named Spartanburg a Bike Town in 2007. The league gives communities platinum, gold, silver, bronze and honorable mention designations. The same awards are given to companies and the Mary Black Foundation received a bronze designation. In all, 73 companies across the country are on the list.The Hawley Co. in Lexington was also selected as a bicycle-friendly business. Fluor in Greenville was added to the list earlier this year. The Hawley Co., received a silver award and Fluor received bronze.Businesses, like the cities named Bike Towns, must reapply for the designation every two years.

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